World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 262 A New Reminder
The spotted lion tribe had acquired a considerable amount of goods at the market, but unfortunately, they were all washed away by the swift-flowing Kuba River.

Instead, everyone was working together to carry three heavy mortars and two boxes of ammunition.

This level of artillery can not only deliver a devastating blow to rainforest tribes, but it can also deal with newly awakened, radiation-contaminated, and low-rated mystics.

Moreover, the five soldiers captured by Lin An were highly skilled military personnel.

They graduated from a formal military academy and then became mercenaries for the Red Poppy Merchant Guild, making them more than capable of training the Lion Tribe.

With their guidance, the guns and bullets confiscated from the Tigerfish tribe finally came in handy.

Aside from the instructors who were forced to join the Lion Tribe, Lin An also brought back Fu Bin and his group of 15 people, more than 20 South Asians who had been trafficked by human traffickers, and journalist Edward Roberts.

The Lion Tribe is not large, and it had previously taken in more than a hundred people from other tribes, but its living space was already saturated.

Although new tents could be made from branches and palm leaves, the size of the lion tribe's land became a problem again.

It is surrounded by a wet, cold stream and a complex forest, making it difficult to expand in a short period of time.

"Maybe we should find a new place to live."

The spotted lions curiously watched the new members join them. Ap and Mvias methodically distributed food and shelter to them. Lin An stood beside the elder with his arms crossed, watching and casually speaking.

“As long as it’s in the rainforest, it’s equally difficult to cultivate anywhere. You either set fire to the mountains and violently raze the vegetation to the ground, or you move to the city,” the elder replied shrewdly. “Mr. Tulf, which do you choose?”

"As for me, I'd definitely choose the latter. Who can resist paved roads, water heaters, and coffee machines?" Lin An laid it out. "I just can't be sure what you think."

"Oh?"

"You told me that the Lion Clan hid in the rainforest to avoid the lumberjacks." Lin An spoke formally with the Elder about the past for the first time. "Aren't you afraid of being discovered by the lumberjacks?"

“We walked all the way from Swahili to Bantu. It’s been 17 years. The shadows of the past have long been washed away by time and distance. Even if we enter the city, I don’t think anyone will care. You can rest assured.”

The elder smiled, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth.

"The main reason I haven't left the rainforest is that I feel life here is more comfortable. As long as you have some medical and first-aid knowledge, you can basically be self-sufficient and won't be affected by war, whether it comes from within the country or from other countries."

She has a point.

Three factors threaten the lives of the Bantu people: war, hunger, and disease. Seeking refuge in the rainforest can at least help them avoid the first one.

“The Swahili Kingdom,” Lin An murmured, referring to this place located downstream of the Kuba River, south of the Bantu Kingdom. “Your original place was really far away.”

“During the Great Migration, our tribe was reduced from several thousand to several hundred people. Fortunately, the main force did not get lost. Following the Kuba River upstream, we eventually arrived at this peaceful rainforest.”

“You live downstream of the Kuba River.”

“That’s right, there’s a river called Lagora where we live. The adults call it ‘Baratavani,’ which means ‘the road of deception.’”

Lin An was taken aback; the words the elder used sounded very familiar.

"Do you know... Ghost Gate Gorge?" he blurted out instinctively.

The elder narrowed his eyes, a meaningful glint flashing in his deep black pupils. He turned his head away, maintaining his usual leisurely and composed demeanor.

“Mr. Tulford, we usually call that place ‘the Land of Eternal Moonlight’.”

"The moonlight will always shine?"

“That’s right, Misuru should have told you about the palm tree Ommumbolombonga. Legend has it that it has been rooted in the land of eternal moonlight since ancient times, and the waters of the Kuba River have nourished it for millennia.”

Swahili, the deceptive road, the gates of hell!

Lin An was immediately shaken to his core.

Isn't this the location of his father Lin Hainan's "laboratory"?
Coincidence?
Or... is there another hidden story?
Listening to the elder's words, Lin An pondered a question that he couldn't understand at all.

He and the three Misuru siblings had never met before, yet he always felt a vague sense of closeness to them.

Could it be that the Lion Clan and my father had some connection?
Speaking of which, my aunt and relatives always tell me that my father started a family in Nanzhou. Could it be...?

Looking at Misuru and Mezo chattering around Meyer from afar, Lin An trembled and reached out to touch his face.

Are they my half-brother and half-sister?
Misuru is seventeen years old this year, which coincides with the time when her father left without saying goodbye.

No, it's impossible.

When Lin An met Misuru, his father had just been killed by a hippopotamus. Excluding the possibility that Lin Hainan had some kind of fetish with Prime Minister Cao, the conclusion that the three of them were Lin An's siblings is basically untenable.

Suddenly, a terrifying flash of inspiration crossed Lin An's mind.

His father built his laboratory on the old site of the Lion Tribe, and when the Grand Elder first saw Lin An, he shouted, "Lumberjack!"

Could my father have been a butcher who single-handedly slaughtered ninety-nine tribes, his hands covered in blood?

How can this be……

Adria Hughes never mentioned her family, but Lin An believed he knew Lin Hainan inside and out, after all, he had lived with him for five years and then lived with his aunt and uncle for thirteen years.

My father shouldn't be that kind of person; he's a member of a conservative family.

Moreover, if the father was indeed a "logger," why did he send Lin An to the vicinity of the Spotted Lion Tribe, allowing him to come into contact with the descendants of the tribe that he hadn't completely wiped out back then?
Lin An's temples throbbed, and the more he thought about it, the more confused he became. He decided to suppress this chilling guess.

She asked the elder a few more questions about the lumberjacks and the past of the Lion Clan, and then recounted the story that Misuru had told her.

Although there are many more details, there is not much newness.

Still a young man known as the "Lumberjack," he was like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, wreaking havoc and wiping out ninety-nine tribes. Terrified, the Lion Tribe led all its members on a long and arduous journey, eventually migrating to the rainforest.

Lin An asked the elder to describe the lumberjack's appearance in detail, and the elder stared at him with an amused look.

"If I had really looked closely, I would be dead by now, how could I still be standing here? I only glanced at him from afar and saw that he was a young man with black hair, black eyes, and fair skin."

"That's a very broad scope."

"Otherwise, how am I supposed to describe him? His face is as sharp and cold as if carved by a knife, his high nose is like a mountain peak, and his eyes reveal three parts contempt, three parts disdain, three parts arrogance, and one part gentleness."

"..."

Lin An's eye twitched as he thought: "The old geezers I've met are all so good at pulling off these kinds of tricks."

Okay, at least we know the lumberjack is a man, which excludes the other half of the world's population.

Unable to get any answers from his inquiries, Lin An returned to his thatched hut.

He pulled up the entry for [Sinbi], the first legendary mystery he had collected since arriving in the Bantu Rainforest, and currently the highest-rated "God of Agriculture" medium.

It contains two abilities: [Queen of the Waters], which consumes one "God of Agriculture" and one "Dreamer," allowing the user to switch breathing systems, enabling them to move freely in the water. However, once on land, the ability must be discontinued, and the breathing system must be switched back. Although Lin An can use the airflow and recovery from the [Philosopher's Stone] to swim in the water, it is quite troublesome and uncomfortable, making it unsuitable for prolonged underwater stays.

It's not particularly useful for now, but maybe it will come in handy if I ever need to search for Atlantis. Lin An thought to himself.

The second type is called "[It's the ghosts and monsters of the underworld calling]". Each time, it consumes two "Gods of Agriculture" and one "Prophet" to listen to the knowledge of a nearby "ghost" and obtain an unknown message.

This entry has a limitation: it can only be used in water, and the information obtained is not very clear. Unless absolutely necessary, Lin An felt that it was not worth using so much medium.

However, for Meyer, this is one of Sinby's core abilities.

She doesn't need to consume any medium; simply by sinking into the water, she can continuously acquire all sorts of knowledge, from astronomy and geography to gossip.

This is an endless source of new knowledge for her, as long as she wants to listen.

This is what is meant by the wisdom of ancestral spirits.

For Lin An now, the mysterious person's abilities are one aspect of their value, and the entry for "God of Agriculture" can be edited later.

More importantly, Mayer's awakening alone provided him with a measurement value of 0.5, far exceeding the efficiency of those supernatural or catastrophic events.

Looking at the "Lady with the Lantern" panel, Lin An discovered that his fusion level was about to break through 1%.

Based on his experience, once these values ​​exceed 1%, a phase of change will occur, such as gaining new abilities or bringing about new changes.

For example, when the radiation exceeded 1%, the energy of "Comerth" became more tangible.

Lin An was eager to master the new abilities provided by the energy of the "Lady with the Lamp" and comprehend the purest concepts belonging to another planet.

While pondering, Lin Anxin had a sudden thought.

In the vision of "God's One Eye," the cool moonlight rode on a honey-producing ant as thin as a cloud or mist, slowly crawling in through his window.

The sounds of drums and tinkling bells rose and fell, growing louder as they approached. A dazzling yellow haze reflected off the back of a honey-producing ant, which resembled a crystal ball.

Lin An lowered his rose-like eyes, and the mist moved with him, following him closely and clinging to his body.

He couldn't get out of this fog, nor could he shake it off, because it belonged to the energy of fantasy, a strange space located between the prism of reality and nothingness.

Yellow light and mist transmitted a daydreamlike vision into Lin An's mind, while surging heat waves repeatedly washed over his spine, and the smell of sulfur permeated the air, omnipresent.

Then, everything went black before Lin An's eyes.

In the darkness, an unseen river surges with towering waves, a turbulent passion intertwined with a deathly silence as cold as snow.

This is the flow of water and the scent of the world of the dead.

Golden butterflies fluttered about, their souls vibrating within the body of an oriole. They flew around an egg, their rumbling sound breaking the silence, and the mask of a jackal appeared.

His voice was half human and half bull-like, and it sounded very harsh.

"Come here, let me borrow your eyeballs!"

“This is not the tone you would use to beg someone, Mr. Zay.”

Lin An recognized the legendary dreamer at a glance. In just one week, his level of corruption had increased significantly, his mind was becoming increasingly unclear, and his illusions were becoming more fantastical and chaotic.

"Humph!"

Zai snorted and continued, "Be careful of chickens, especially roosters and unborn chicks of hens."

"This... a live pearl?"

His riddle was supposed to be a profound "prophecy," but due to cultural differences, Lin An almost burst out laughing.

"I'll be waiting for you in the chicken coop!"

After saying this, the yellow mist enveloped Zai's mask in reverse, and he disappeared into the water without a trace. Moonlight once again streamed in through the window, scattering silver fragments across the ground.

chicken……

Lin An reached out, his five fingers weaving through the spots of light, lost in thought.

…………

At midday, the humid and scorching temperature enveloped the entire rainforest.

The mermaid Susumi, with her swallow-like black and white tail, moved nimbly, followed by a man and a woman. The strange atmosphere surrounding them confirmed their mysterious identities.

These are the three mysterious figures associated with the ancestral spirit totem.

"Are we just going to set off like this?" a rather short woman with a carrot-colored flower tied in her hair asked. "The others haven't arrived yet, have they?"

“There’s no time to wait for them. My brother—the tribal chief—has been urging me to go and come back quickly all day.” Susumi pouted. “Besides, I don’t think they’ve even set off.”

“To be honest, I didn’t want to come either,” the short boy in sandals chimed in. “But there’s no harm in coming, and it’s a good opportunity to test the [Forest Ranger’s] attitude.”

“He’s not like Zai, who can enter our dreams and we can’t escape him.” The woman shook her head. “The others probably think the Rangers can’t find them.”

"By the way, have you finished the homework assigned by the Lion Ancestor Spirit?" Susumi asked.

"What homework?" The woman was taken aback.

"Utilize rainforest resources and expand the influence of forest rangers!"

“I came prepared this time,” the boy said smugly. “It’s better to be safe than sorry. What if that forest ranger really does share some secrets about manipulating the roof?”

As the three chatted along the way, the outline of a small tribe came into view before them.

Contrary to their expectations, the Lion Tribe is now a completely different place. The energetic people are divided into several teams, each with their own duties, busy at work, with all sorts of novel things lined up in a row.

"Crench."

The short boy stared wide-eyed at the enormous, metallic-looking creatures, when he accidentally stepped on a tree branch.

In an instant, a sharp alarm blared throughout the rainforest.

A chilling atmosphere enveloped him. The boy saw a row of gun barrels and a cannon pointed in his direction, poised to fire. He couldn't help but raise his hands.

"I surrender!"

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Merry Christmas, dear readers! ~o(〃'▽'〃)o
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(End of this chapter)